Total Budget: € 599.897,00 | Period: From January 2009 To December 2010

Summary

This project, funded by the Spanish Cooperation, aims at investigating food insecurity and vulnerability of around 250 poorest rural households Tubas, Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates by providing quantitative and qualitative data about people and areas suffering from food insecurity and through developing a food security information system to assist in pilot decision-making process for future planning and implementation of developmental programs, awareness programs and relief interventions to ensure sustainable food security of most needy families in the targeted areas. The Strategic goal of this project is to improve the food security of poorest rural households in Tubas, Bethlehem and Hebron governorates, which are amongst those most targeted and affected governorates in the West Bank from sharp deterioration in the socio-economic conditions. Several activities are conducted for studying and surveying food security, health and nutritional status in Tubas, Hebron and Bethlehem Governorates at household and locality level through the formulation of 74 committees at national, governorate and locality levels; the conduction of baseline survey for 3500 households; the conduction of blood test survey for 3000 persons; the conduction of awareness programs covering topics related to food intake, food hygiene, nutritional health and food insecurity coping strategies, with main focus on capacities of key women in the targeted communities. These campaigns include the production of 5 leaflets, 50 articles, 100 flashes, and 10 TV and Radio sessions. As for implementation outputs of the project, the targeted poorest rural households shall improve their food production, their livelihood, generate more income, and develop their agro-environmental capacities through the implementation of agro-developmental activities at 380 households.

Partnership

Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ ) - Palestine

Lead applicant

Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation - South Korea

Build capacities of MoA and MoH to maintain and update the project information system; Activate networking and integration process among the food security stakeholders though sharing them with obtained results and develop future procedure;

Implement some developmental activities on household level especially for the surveyed poorest of the poor households through utilizing their resources to improve their food security conditions and improve their income generation sources

Step 3: Background and context

Economic growth in the oPt has markedly decreased due to the conflict, mainly through controls imposed by Israel on the entry and exit of goods, services and people; impediments to construction and infrastructure investment in the oPt; the expansion of Israeli settlements and associated violence; and the direct destruction of houses, crops, animals, water and sanitation infrastructure by the Israeli Army . The Gaza Strip is currently undergoing a de-development due to Israeli military interventions and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Step 4: Main results achieved

1. Assessing the food insecurity and nutritional health of targeted communities and developing food security information system:  Intensive survey for the targeted governorates conducted, analyzed and the obtained results disseminated to the decision makers and stakeholders.  Food security and nutritional health information system created with the participation of different stakeholders, and the system is running and updated by them. 2. Governmental stakeholders built their capacities in running and updating the developed information system. 3. Networking mechanisms among the different stakeholder is created in the field of food security and in a sustainable manner. 4. The targeted Governorates and local communities had improved their knowledge and awareness regarding food security and nutritional health. 5. The most needy rural households increased their agro-production capacities and succeeded in improving their food security and livelihood status through the following achievements:

Step 5: Main beneficiaries and needs addressed

Governmental stakeholders built their capacities in running and updating the developed information system

250 poor families have benefited from the project activities.

The beneficiaries built their capacities in agricultural production and management (plant and livestock), food processing and food hygiene.

The design and development of this project proposal was done based on consultation of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the World Food Program (WFP), and the Food Security Working Group as part of the Consolidated Appeal Program / OCHA. Additionally, communications and discussions between ARIJ and community stakeholders in Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates including active NGO's and community leaders and extensive visits to the targeted communities were conducted. ARIJ also possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge about the targeted communities.

The project design takes into account the existing food insecurity conditions in the Southern and Northern parts of the West Bank, and the interventions focus on receiving measurable and sustainable gains within the limited timeframe of the project.

Step 8: Environmental impact

This project aims to investigate food insecurity and vulnerability in Tubas, Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates by providing quantitative and qualitative data about people and areas suffering from food insecurity and through developing a food security information system to assist in pilot decision-making process for future planning and implementation of developmental programs and relief interventions to ensure sustainable food security of most needy families in the targeted areas.

Agro-developmental activitiesAgro-developmental activities

Step 9: Sustainability, transferability and duplicability

The database and the spatial data was transfered from ARIJ station to WFP station to help and support and build on their system in future projects.

Step 10: Dissemination

All the project findings and developed information systems will be available to people, related bodies, and institutions. Additionally, the media will be utilized to disseminate the project findings and recommendations. ARIJ will submit a technical report every three months to the Spanish Cooperation, which will present the progress of the project activities and expenses. Final integrated report will be prepared and submitted one month following the end of the project period.